ROSS KNELLER dropped down the order and saved Guernsey’s bacon in Singapore this morning. The Cobo batsman smashed a 64-ball 86 to rescue the Guernsey innings after losing the toss and being put in by Argentina in round three of WCL Five in Singapore.

In a must-win game for the Sarnians if they are to harbour realistic hopes of reaching Saturday’s final and with it securing another promotion, Guernsey lost recalled opener Andy Biggins to a golden duck and with Tim Ravenscroft also going for a duck, Guernsey were 37 for three. And when star man Jeremy Frith was fourth out with the score on 53, Guernsey were in bad shape. But enter Kneller who in partnerships with skipper Stuart Le Prevost (22) and Ben Ferbrache (33 not out) rescued the innings. Kneller smashed five fours and six sixes to lift Guernsey to a decent 42-over total of 213 for seven. It remained to be seen whether a target of 5.07 runs per over will be enough to send Argentina spiralling to a third defeat, but the early indications were that it might be, after Jamie Nussbaumer and Stuart Bisson struck early to have Argentina 17 for two in the ninth. When rain intervened Argentina were struggling at 54 for three after 19 overs. It was the third straight game that Nussbaumer had made an early breakthrough with the new ball, and he ended his initial five-over spell this morning with figures of one for four.

The island side came into the match desperate for a second win as part of a longer term hope of another shot at Singapore in the final. That after the hosts became the first side to beat the Greens in 17 attempts over 50-overs with a deserved 78-run victory on Sunday which left Guernsey with a record of won one, lost one after the first two rounds of matches. ‘I really hope we get the chance to play Singapore again,’ said Guernsey coach Andy Cornford. ‘This competition is wide open and all the teams can beat each other, but Singapore will be the hardest to beat and now I hope they continue their winning ways in the rest of the round-robin stage.

Guernsey had done well in the field to restrict the hosts to 223, but in reply the only major contribution was a fine 76 from Jeremy Frith as they slipped to 145 all out. ‘I was disappointed because I think we got ourselves into a position where we could have won the game,’ added Cornford. ‘Frithy obviously batted very well, but no-one stayed in with him against a Singapore side who I thought were very disciplined and were collectively better than us on the day, but they don’t have a wow factor. It is just one bad day, though, and we will regroup.’

‘Kneller not crying over Argentina’ by Gareth Le Prevost

GUERNSEY were indebted to Ross Kneller yesterday as they got their Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division Five campaign back on track. Following the disappointment of Sunday’s loss to hosts Singapore, the Greens had got off to a bad start against Argentina, losing an important toss after a rain delay and then finding themselves 53 for four. However, coming in at number six, Kneller made a brilliant 86 from just 64 balls and shared in crucial partnerships with Stuart Le Prevost and Ben Ferbrache to get their side up to a defendable 213 from 42 overs. In a rain-affected second innings, Argentina fell 29 runs short in their chase.

‘That’s the best I have batted for Guernsey,’ Kneller said. ‘The situation we were in, I knew if I got out early we were going to be in big trouble because we wanted to set up a decent score to defend and losing four quick wickets meant we couldn’t take any risks. ‘It was good to build a bit of a partnership with Stu and then Ferby came in and did really well.’ Kneller surprised even himself with his tally of six sixes during his innings. ‘It was just one of those days where I was not searching for sixes, but I was looking to put away the bad balls. ‘I have got a good bat, though,’ he added.

Guernsey remain third in the table and today face Malaysia, who sit unbeaten on top after beating favourites Singapore yesterday. ‘Playing Malaysia is a big game and they are going to have the same mind set against us as we had against Bahrain,’ Kneller said. ‘We have beaten them the last three times we have played, so they are going to want to get one over on us.’ Meanwhile, Argentina look set for a second straight relegation.

A SENSATIONAL knock from Ross Kneller was the foundation for Guernsey’s crucial win over Argentina yesterday. Following their defeat on Sunday against hosts Singapore, the Greens were desperate to get back to winning ways in Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division Five. However, they had to overcome a sticky start after losing the toss on a pitch made tricky for batting by morning rain that delayed the match by two hours at the Singapore Cricket Club. Andy Biggins, brought in as an extra batsman in place of Gary Rich, opened the innings with GH Smit and the left-hander was unfortunate to get a short of a length delivery that lifted on him, took the shoulder of his bat and lobbed up to gully.

Smit and Frith steadied the ship for a while, but the loss of the South African, trapped in front, started a mini collapse as the out-of-sorts Tim Ravenscroft miscued a cut to gift point a catch and then Frith top-edged an attempted pull shot and Grant Dugmore took a fine catch running backwards from slip – Guernsey were 53 for four. Then the rebuild began. Captain Stuart Le Prevost looked assured at the crease, not taking any undue risks, and Kneller, who had opened in the previous two games, likewise. Although the run-rate was subdued for a large part of their 49-run partnership that took exactly 14 overs, it was a pitch on which batsmen needed to get their eyes in before trying to force the pace.

It was to get slightly easier as the match wore on as the sun took effect and as Guernsey approached three figures, so the boundaries started to materialise. Le Prevost started them with a six over long-on, but it was Kneller who was to deal in them as he moved through the gears so impressively. The skipper was annoyed to get out with an indecisive prod to a ball that turned and trapped him in front for 22 with the score on 102, but Ben Ferbrache joined Kneller in a sixth-wicket stand which proved decisive.

Ferbrache played the supporting role well while Kneller began hitting the bowling to all parts, including a couple into the road running alongside the pitch. Five of his six maximums were launched into the leg-side, including the one which brought up his half-century, but his best was an in-to-out shot over extra cover which had his teammates purring with delight. It was only when thoughts of a possible ton began to surface that Kneller perished for a superb 86 made from just 64 balls, which also included five fours. He and Ferbrache had put on 89 in 11 overs. In the three overs remaining, after Tom Kimber was dismissed for a duck, Ferbrache, who finished on 33 not out, and Jamie Nussbaumer pushed the score on past 200 and up to a total of 213, which was 60-odd more than had looked likely at one stage.

The momentum was all with Guernsey as Argentina’s openers took guard to begin the reply and soon Lucas Paterlini was back in the hutch as Nussbaumer nipped one back through the gate. Stuart Bisson added the scalp of Pablo Ferguson with Kimber taking a smart catch off the inside edge as Guernsey’s new-ball bowlers both produced the excellent opening spells their skipper was looking for.

But as the clouds closed in, Le Prevost turned to spin to get through the overs as quickly as possible, with 20 needed to constitute a game. Frith and Smit almost got there – with the left-armer trapping Gary Savage leg before along the way – but with one more over needed, the heavens opened with Argentina 54 for three after 19 overs. The shower lasted the best part of 45min, but once it had passed over, the ground dried quickly to allow play to resume, with Argentina set the new target of 163 from 29 overs Guernsey knew that they just needed to keep their heads and they did just that. Despite a few lusty blows from the batsmen, particularly Matias Paterlini and Hernan Williams, the Greens turned the screw with Frith and Ravenscroft claiming a wicket apiece and David Hooper picking up three yet again, including one off the final ball of the match.